Question: If the sales tax in your city is $3.4\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$179$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${3.4\%} \times {\$179} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $3.4\%$ is equivalent to $3.4 \div 100$ $3.4 \div 100 = 0.034$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.034$ $\times$ $$179$ = $$6.09$ You would pay $$6.09$ in sales tax.